


Firsts

by abucketfulloffeels



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 05:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5654455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abucketfulloffeels/pseuds/abucketfulloffeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Nozomi gets excited and a tad flustered about her first serious friendship. Set when the third years were in their first year of high school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Firsts

 Nozomi could not have been more certain in her decision to befriend Ayase Eli. The gods told her to do so, the cards told her to do so, even her own intuition told her to do so, and indeed, within a short time, her first friendship in Otonokizaka High School could not have been better.

 Due to constant travelling around because of her parent’s work when she was young, Nozomi’s friendships at school were always short-lived. In her mind, she had developed an arbitrary checklist indicating the development of a particular friendship. The first stage was talking to each other in between classes, the second stage was having meals together in school, the third stage was walking home together, the fourth stage was going out together, and the fifth stage was going to each other’s home. 

 Usually, Nozomi’s friendships only progressed to stage 3 at the very most before she had to transfer school again. So when Eli suggested that they hang out after school together one day, Nozomi was taken aback.

 “Since we’re ending school earlier today, why don’t we grab a parfait together? I know of this really good parfait shop nearby.” Eli suggested while both of them were packing their bags after school.

 “Eh?” Nozomi straightened up and stopped momentarily.

 “Huh? You’re not free? Or you don’t like parfaits?”

 “A-ahh, no, I’m free!” Nozomi immediately replied. “Come on, let’s go!”

* * *

 

 The two girls stood behind the counter at the shop and pored over the menu. Nozomi smiled to herself as she saw her friend frown a little as she pondered over what parfait to order, while tucking her hair behind her ears.

 “What are you going to order, Elicchi?” Nozomi only started calling Eli by that nickname recently, but she was slowly getting used to doing so - and Eli did not mind anyway.

 “Hmm...I think I’ll get the Double Chocolate Delight. How about you?”

 “I’m actually not a dessert person, so I’m not very sure…”

 “How about a Tropical Surprise? This one’s not very sweet, so you might like it!”

 “Okay then!”

 Nozomi and Eli made their orders, and in no time, the parfaits were ready and they headed to their seats.

 “Itadakimasu,” Eli mumbled before digging in. Nozomi noticed how Eli’s crystal blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she started to eat her parfait.

 “I can see you really like parfaits, a lot, Elicchi,” Nozomi giggled before eating a mouthful of hers.

 “Ehh, not really,” Eli blushed a little. “I just really like chocolate.”

 “Let me try some of yours.” Nozomi reached for a spoonful of Eli’s parfait - a playful move, but something Nozomi regarded as a step closer to a deeper friendship - sharing food with each other without qualms.

 Eli smiled. Nozomi was also her first friend since she entered Otonokizaka, and possibly her first close friend since she moved from Russia to Japan. She was the first person who embraced her individuality, and the first person she truly opened up to.

* * *

 

 Just as Nozomi thought her friendship with Eli was cruising along well, it suddenly went into full throttle when Eli popped the question.

 “Hey, since the deadline of this project is approaching soon, why don’t you come over to my house this Saturday to complete it?” Eli casually mentioned while the both of them were working on a pair assignment after school. “We can chill and talk as well if you want.”

 Nozomi’s tried her best to suppress a stupid grin.  _ No, Nozomi, you shouldn’t get so excited over going to Elicchi’s house, she’ll think you’re a weirdo. But!!! Stage 5!!! And it hasn’t even been 6 months since you’ve been friends with her!!! _

 “S...sure! What time would be good for you?”

* * *

 As Nozomi sat on the train to Eli’s house, she alternated between staring outside the window, at her watch and the address Eli had given her. It was 2.03 pm. They had agreed to meet at 2.30 pm. She was two more stops away, which would take about 10 minutes. Then she had to take a 10 minute walk from the station to Eli’s apartment, which she gave an extra 5 minutes buffer time in case she got lost, which meant that she would arrive sometime between 2.23 to 2.28 pm - not too early such that Eli would be caught unprepared, and not too late such that she would be seen as rude.

 Nozomi arrived at Eli’s doorstep at precisely 2.25 pm. She could hear faint conversations in a mixture of Russian and Japanese coming from the inside. Nozomi pressed the doorbell, and it was answered shortly by Eli, whose blonde hair was not done up in her usual ponytail but let down instead.

 “Hi, Nozomi, make yourself comfortable while I go get you a drink. My parents happened to be out today so it’s just my sister and me.”

 Nozomi’s eyes followed Eli as she disappeared into the kitchen and came out with a small pot of tea. A younger girl also emerged and spoke something to Eli in Russian.

 “Ah, Nozomi, this is my younger sister, Alisa. Alisa, this is my friend, Nozomi.” Eli gestured to the both of them.

 “Hello!” Alisa responded in Japanese with a crisp voice, and Nozomi waved back, smiling.

 Eli showed Nozomi into her room. “Alisa-chan is very cute,” Nozomi mentioned.

 “She’s entering middle school next year,” Eli replied as she placed the teapot on her table. “We’re trying to converse in Japanese at home more often so that she can get used to speaking Japanese.”

 Glancing around Eli’s room, Nozomi noticed a couple of photographs of Eli in ballet performances (Eli told her she used to do ballet), as well as some of her with her grandmother from Russia.

 The both of them worked efficiently, and managed to complete their assignment half an hour before the time Nozomi had to leave. They decided to spend the remaining time watching cat videos on the internet, and occasionally stumbled across trending videos, including a performance or two by the up and coming “school idol” group A-RISE from the nearby UTX High School.

 “Thanks, Elicchi. It was nice coming over.” Nozomi bade Eli farewell at the doorstep when it was time for her to leave.

 “No problem! You can come over anytime in fact!” Eli waved goodbye before closing the door.

 Nozomi’s chest welled up with happiness. To many, going over to a friend’s house was an extremely trivial thing, but to her, it was something she longed to do - which she finally did.

* * *

 

 Summer vacation had just, and Nozomi was in her bedroom one night, her finger hovering over the ‘send’ button on her mobile phone. After a few moments, she decided to hit the button and send the message to Eli.

 “Want to come over to my apartment next Tuesday?”

 Nozomi waited for 1 minute. Then 5 minutes. Then 10 minutes. No reply.  _ Maybe Elicchi had already gone back to Russia and can’t reply me,  _ she thought.

 Just as she was about to put down her phone and go to sleep, her phone buzzed.

 “Okay.” Eli responded.

* * *

 

 On Tuesday, Nozomi got up extra early to clean up the small apartment of hers in preparation for Eli’s arrival - floors swept, tables cleaned, laundry kept.

 Not long after the agreed arrival time, the doorbell rang. Nozomi almost jumped up from her chair. She answered the door, and there was Eli, with her hair let down again and in fashionable set of casual clothes.

 “I’m sorry if the place seems too cramped, you don’t need a lot of space if you’re living by yourself,” Nozomi had already told Eli that she was living alone in a small apartment, but she was still a tad worried that Eli would be uncomfortable in such a small abode.

 “It’s fine,” Eli smiled. Although Nozomi did not show it outright, she could tell that she was quite excited and anxious to have her over.

 “My parents mailed me a mini yakiniku grill set a few months ago as a birthday present, but I never got to use it, so I’m glad I can finally do so now that you’re over,” Nozomi took out the grill set and a plate of meat and vegetables from the kitchen as Eli sat down at the dining table.

 Both the girls started grilling the food promptly, and began chatting casually. What they talked about ranged from Eli wanting to apply for the student’s council (and Nozomi agreeing to join as well), to things regarding their classmates, like how Nico’s idol group recently disbanded.

 “I’ll be going over to my parents’ place for most of summer, just to let you know,” Nozomi mentioned as she took a piece of beef off the grill.

 “Me too, I’m going back to Russia to see my grandmother,” Eli said excitedly.

 Nozomi remained silent for a moment. “So...we’ll see each other after summer vacation?”

 “Yeah!”

 Eli’s simple reply made Nozomi feel warm and fuzzy deep inside. Being able to see the same friend after a new school term was something that rarely happened to her, and to do so with such a dear friend like Eli could not have made her happier.

* * *

 

 It was the first day of the new school term. Nozomi put on the exact same uniform she last put on 3 months ago, but tied on the red second year ribbon instead of the blue one for first years. She took the same train route, and walked the same path that led to Otonokizaka High School.

 She arrived in class, and found Eli already there, reading a book.

 “Nozomi,” Eli looked up and beamed. “Welcome back.”

 “Elicchi.”

 Without warning, Nozomi wrapped her arms around Eli in a tight embrace.

 “W-why the sudden hug?” Eli was caught by surprised.

 “Nothing much really,” Nozomi replied in her usual soothing voice. “Just glad to be able to meet you again.”


End file.
